Header Primary Navigation

Ten climate change Frequently Asked Questions, answered byEARTH: The Operators’ Manual program host, Richard Alley.
Many of the scientific terms used here are defined in the Glossary.

Global Warming & Ice Sheets

RiCHARD ALLEY Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University

The United States National Academy of Sciences, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC), and numerous leading professional societies such as the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science Board of Directors have confirmed the strong scientific evidence that:

→ human activities (especially the burning of fossil fuels) are changing the
composition of the atmosphere;

→ this is contributing to warming and other climate changes;

→ the changes so far are small compared to those expected under business as usual;

→ impacts of the climate changes on economies and ecosystems will be significant; and

→ options exist to avoid or slow down the changes (mitigation), and to reduce the harm
and take advantage of the opportunities from the changes that occur (adaptation).

Here, in question-and-answer format, is a synopsis of some of the relevant science, with special attention to ice sheets.CLICK FOR FAQ1

*Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Pennsylvania State University, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the National Research Council, or other organizations.

UPDATE OF THE WEEK

Two Minutes to Midnight for the World’s Tiniest Cetacean – Mexico’s Vaquita

Without tougher enforcement of fishing rules, time will soon run out for Mexico's vaquita, the world's smallest cetacean.... READ MORE

2015 SkS News Bulletin #2: Willie Soon & The Fossil Fuel Industry

This bulletin inventories reactions to recent revelations made about Wiilie Soon's relationship with the fossil fuel industry while employed by the Smithsonian Institution at the Harvard-Smi... READ MORE

Droughts in Syria and California linked to climate change

The two regions have recently suffered their worst droughts on record. And Syria's may have helped to trigger its civil war... READ MORE

Hungry insects may halve forest carbon sink capacity

Forests may only achieve half of their predicted increase in carbon sink capacity because insects munch more when CO2 levels rise... READ MORE

Global intervention in tropical forests to combat climate change could sideline their most effective guardians, warns Fred Pearce... READ MORE

Amazon deforestation soars after a decade of stability

Satellite images of the Amazon show that deforestation in Brazil has, at points, risen to levels 467 per cent of last year's... READ MORE

CNN’s Bill Weir Explores the World’s Threatened Wonders

In a CNN series, a seasoned foreign correspondent and noted filmmaker explore the cutting edge of fast-forward environmental and cultural change.... READ MORE

Climate Oscillations and the Global Warming Faux Pause

No, climate change is not experiencing a hiatus. No, there is not currently a “pause” in global warming.
Despite widespread such claims in contrarian circles, human-caused warming of the ... READ MORE

Understanding adjustments to temperature data

This is a guest post by Zeke Hausfather
There has been much discussion of temperature adjustment of late in both climate blogs and in the media, but not much background on what specific adjustments ar... READ MORE

Farewell, Eugenie Clark, the Lady With the Sharks

The passing of Eugenie Clark, a great communicator of all things piscivorous.... READ MORE

On Keystone and Climate, Bloomberg Presses Obama to Negotiate with Canada Instead of Congress

Yesterday, President Barack Obama became the first president who has taken a stand to stop climate change.
Actually, that isn’t quite true. President Obama took that stand from his first step in... READ MORE

2015 SkS News Bulletin #1: Adjusting Temperature Records

This bulletin inventories rebuttals to two recent articles by Christopher Booker published in the UK's Daily Telegraph claiming that climate scientists have nefariously manipulated temperature data in... READ MORE

On Rajendra Pachauri’s Resignation from the U.N. Climate Panel

The longtime head of the U.N. climate science panel steps down amid sexual misconduct allegations.... READ MORE

Renewable energy poised to overtake nuclear in the UK

Surge in wind power sees share of electricity from renewable sources double between 2010 and 2013, driving down carbon emissions... READ MORE

The Soon fallacy

As many will have read, there were a number of press reports (NYT, Guardian, InsideClimate) about the non-disclosure of Willie Soon’s corporate funding (from Southern Company (an energy utility... READ MORE

Australia hit by tropical cylone double whammy

For the first time Australia has seen two severe cyclones make landfall within a day – and it's a taste of what climate change has in store... READ MORE

Climatology versus Pseudoscience book tests whose predictions have been right

I’ve just had a book published entitled Climatology versus Pseudoscience: Exposing the Failed Predictions of Global Warming Skeptics.
Climatology versus Pseudoscience cover
The book covers ... READ MORE